Method of treating fabric, and fabric



April27, 1943. cfr. GRAHAM METHOD oF TREATING FABRIC AND FABRIC- FiledJan. 27, 1958 MM5 @M lon to the next dot.

Patented Apr.l 27, 1943 Marilou or TREATING FABRIC, AND FABRIC ClarenceT. Graham, North Attleboro, Mass., as-

signor, by mesne assignments, to Defiance Manufacturing Company,Barrowsville, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January27, 193s, semi No. 187,136.

(ci. 2li-74) 3 Claims.

'Ihis application is a continuation in part of my application, SerialNo. 4,643, filed February 2, 1935, for Fabric and method and apparatusfor its manufacture, the subject matter of which application is nowclaimed in Letters Patent 2,128,516, dated August 30, 1938, and2,155,127, dated April 18, ,1939.

This invention relates to the method of and apparatus for applying afinishing material, such as starch, dye, or lthe like, to a fabric andto the fabric that results therefrom.

It is common practice forthe textile mills that Weave fabrics to havethe finishing of these fabrics accomplished in a separate finishingmill. In such a finishing mill, the Vfabrics are either bleached, orhave applied thereto, finishes such as dye, starch, or the like.

One type of the fabrics that are received by the finishing mill consistsof a base fabric, that is, one consisting of warp and weft threadsalone. Another type consists of such a base fabric and a raised designwhich in certain instances is produced in the textile mill byinterengaging rovings with the base fabric. In some instances thesedesign rovings are clipped or sheared to form a raised figure of anydesired or overall design. As this fabric is received by the finishingmill, usually in bales, the design rovings are unfluifed. I haveillustrated, in the drawing, one form of such fabric that is received bythe finishing mill for the application of a finish such as starch, dye,or the like. In this form the base fabric, as I have said, consists ofthe usual warp and weft threads and of design rovings that are arrangedto form what I shall term fluff dots. In the textile mill these fluffdots are formed by interengaging the rovings from -which the fluff dotsare to be formed with the threads of the base fabric at spaced pointsand looping these rovings back and forth between these points, and thenpassing The rovings that are thus looped back and forth are then cutaway between the points at which these rovings are engaged with the basefabric. 'I'his operation produces the fluff dots, with the free ends ofthe rovings extending somewhat away from the obverse side of the basefabric, the rovings being in somewhat of a U-form; but these fluff dotsare, at this time, unfluffed, and lie more or less fiat against the basefabric. When it is desired to apply the finish to the fabric, as bystarching or dyeing, for

instance, without applying the finish to the rovings, o1' fiuif dots, orother raised portion, the treatment must be carried 'on to the exclusionof such raised portions and yet must be so effectively applied to thebase fabric as to impart to it the desired finish. Moreover, the fluffdots or other raised figures must be handled in such a manner that theywill be out of the zone of the finishing treatment.

My present invention seeks to accomplish the uthe application of theresults that are indicated above as desirable and to accomplish relatedresults that are not above pointed out, but that will appear as thedescription progresses.

In the drawing I have illustrated in more or less conventionalrepresentation, a mechanism for carrying out my process, but it is to'beunderstood that the process may be carried out by otherinstrumentalities or by hand and that the details of the steps of theprocess may be varied. I therefore am not to be limited to the specificdisclosure of either the process or the apparatus, but only insofar asis made necessary by the claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of an apparatus for carrying out themethod that forms one part of this invention,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of the mechanism for projecting thepressure fluid onto the fabric after the finish has ben applied anddried,

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the condition of the rovingsprior to the "roughing treatment.

Figure 4 is a similar view showing the condition of the rovings afterthe roughing has been accomplished, and

Figure 5 is a detail of the rougher, and

Figure 6 is a detail of the fabric advancing clamps.

'I'he method includes advancing a fabric in the direction 'of either itslength or breadth While maintaining the same under tension, raising therovings so that the portions thereof that are visible on the obverseside of the fabric extend away from the fabric, applying a finish to thereverse side of the fabric, arresting the penetration of -the finishbefore it encounters that portion of the rovings that are visible fromvthe obverse side of the fabric, and thereafter subjecting the fabric tosuch action thatA the allover effect of the fabric and rovings such asuif dots will be uniform, as well as certain other related steps whichwill appear as the description progresses.

-The apparatus that I have chosen to illustrate method includes an applicator roll I that is rotatably mounted within a reservoir 2 adaptedto contain the finishing material such as the starch or dye material,which material may be heated, when desired', by any suitable means.

In order that the fabric to be finished may be Passed across /and inContact with the surface of the applicator roll I, I have provided aseries of guide rollers 3, 4, v5, 6, 1, 8 and 9 which include the usualcommercial type of cloth guider that is used in the finishing art.

In order that the applicator roll I may be driven by the advancingfabric and at variable speeds, I have provided the following mechanism:

A drive roller ill freely rests upon the reach of the fabric which liesbetweenV the guide rollers 6 and 1 and is provided with a pulley II overwhich a belt I2 passes. This belt I2 passes over a, variable speedpulley i3, which is suitably supported for rotation on its axis. Asecond belt I4 passes over this pulley I3 and around a pulley I5 on theapplicator roll I. Thus the advancing fabric rotates the driving rollerIIJ which, through belt I2, rotates pulley I3 and in turn, theapplicator roll I, through the belt I4 and the pulley I5. It is obviousthat the speed of rotation of the applicator roll I may be varied bymeans of the variable speed pulley I3 and that in any event, andregardless of its particular speed of rotation, this speed bears adefinite ratio to the speed of travel of the cloth over the surface ofthe applicator roll I. The purpose of this variation of speed of theapplicator roll I i s so that variable quantities of the finishingliquid may be applied to the cloth as the cloth travels over and incontact with the face of the roll as will later more fully be described.

The guide rollers B and 9 are mounted for vertical adjustment by meansof adjusting members i6 so that the arc of contact between the advancingfabric and the surface of the applicator -roll I may be varied or inother words, so that the fabric may have a greater or lesser surfacecontact with the roll.

In order that the design rovings that form the fluff dots may bearranged to extend away from the obverse side of the fabric so that theymay be free from application of the finishing material or so that theextent of penetration of the finishing material into Vthe rovings orfluff dots may be controlled, I have provided what l shall term arougher i1. which is arranged above the adjustable roller' 9 in theconstruction as L have shown it, but which may be arranged above theadjustable roller 8. ln fact, whether or not it is arranged above one orthe other is of little importance. One or the other of these rollers 8and 9 may be dispensed with and in that event, the rougher will bemounted above the remaining roller. This rougher is adapted to engagewith the design rovings as the fabric advances, with the result that therovings which later become the fluff dots or other raised de- A sign areloosened, softened and iluffed, and the matted condition of the rovingsis relieved. At the same time the rovings are raised so that they extendaway from the obverse side of the fabric and out of contact therewithsave for the portion of the rovings that are actually interengaged withthe threads of the base fabric.

-n the drawing, I have illustrated this rougher as being what may betermed a brush form consisting of a transverse backing I8 that extendslongitudinally above the roller 9. The brush member I3 may be made up ofa series of elements such as wires, bristles or the like. These elementsextend. preferably, in acute angular relation to the. advancing fabricand in the direction opposite to that in which the fabric is moving.This arrangement of the brush elements causes them to engage beneath thedesign rovings, which, as has heretofore been stated, lie more or lessflat on the obverse side of the fabric and in a matted condition, andraises them so that they extend away from the base fabric, at the sametime, loosening, softening. fluiilng, and destroying the. mattedcondition of the rovings. As will be seen, this operation on therovings, such as the fluff dots, or other raised design, takes placebefore the fabric` passes over the applicator roll I.

This form of roughing element I1 is adjustably mounted so that it may beadjusted with and in relation to the roller with which it cooperates.

'it is to be understood that this roughing action may be accomplished byvarious means other than that illustrated. For instance, the rougher mayinclude a device with a rotary motion in one direction or the other, orin both, or with a lateral motion combined with any or all of the abovemotions so that the figure can be roughed in any desired direction tocreate the desired shapes, such as, oblong, round, high, low, flat, etc.

Arranged in spaced relation to the mechanism that applies the finishingmaterial is a dryer 2U which may be either of the conventional open, orcontact, constructions, and includes a suitable housing which may besupplied with a heating medium, such as hot air, through a duct 2l. Itis a part of the method to regulate the temperature within this dryer.

The dryer includes a. series of clamps 2I arranged te grip,automatically, each salvage of the fabric as illustrated in Figure 6.These clamps are moved in a direction away from the applicator roll l ata given and controllable speed by operating mechanism which isconventionally represented by sprockets 22 and chains 22'.

The function of this dryer is to dry the finishing material whether itbe starch, dye, or some other finishing material, after the, finishingmaterial has penetrated the fabric to the desired n. and predeterminedextent. This, of course, means a4 control of the rapidity of movement ofthe fabric to and through the dryer aswell as a temperature controlwithin the dryer or, in other words, a control of the time elementintervening between the application of the finishing material and thedrying of that material.

From the dryer, the fabric is drawn through a housing 23, that islocated within the dryer 20, by means of the advancing mechanism 22'.Arranged within the housing 23, preferably, in a horizontal plane are aplurality of manifolds 25 which are provided with control valves 26 andare connected to a source of supply of fluid under pressure. From thesemanifolds, perforated pipes or nozzles 21 extend, also, preferably, inthe same horizontal plane. The perforationsin these pipes or nozzles 21open downwardly over a platen 28 above which the fabricpasses. It willbe noted that the arrangement of these pipes or nozzles 21 is such thatas the fluid under pressure is ejected from the openings or jetstherein, the entire surface of the fabric will be subjected to a uniformtreatment which will result in the complete fiufflng of the rovings suchas the fluff dots or other raised design.

I have found that steam or air under pressure are admirably adapted as afluid for accomplish lng the results that I have above pointed out.

When the fabric issues from the housing it will haveI had the finishingmaterial applied thereto so that the base fabric is compietely treatedby that material and the rovings such as the fluff dots or other raiseddesign lack such treatment, either to the full extent, or to any desiredextent, and will be in an unmatted. fluffy, condition, which is thecondition that it is desired to attain.

Following now the movement of the fabric through the various mechanismsthat I have described, after passing over the guide rollers, it

- or "unfiuff the rovings.

passes over the applicator rol1 I, so that its reverse side, that is tosay, the side opposite to that which carries the rovings engages withthe surface of the applicator roll I. The rotation of this roll causedby the driving of the roller I by the movement of the fabric, picks upthe finishing material and applies it to the lower surface of thefabric. By convection, the finishing material penetrates the fibers ofthe fabric and moves toward the obverse side. It is to be here notedthat the increasing of the speed of rotation or the decreasing of thespeed of rotation ofthe applicator roll controls the amount of finishingmaterial that is applied to the fabric, or otherwise stated, the fasterthe rotation of the applicator roll, the greater the application of thematerial, and conversely, the lesser the speed of rotation of theapplicator roll, the less the application of the finishing material. Itis also to be noted that the surface contact of the fabric with the rollI may be varied by raising or lowering the rollers 8 and 9, or if onlyone of these is used by raising and lowering that one. Ihus the extentof contact and consequently the time of contact of the fabric with thesurface of the roller may be varied, which varies the period of pressurebetween the applicator roll and the fabric, and consequently, therapidity of penetration of the nishing material into the fabric.

As the fabric passes from the roller I to the dryer 20, the finishingmaterial 'continues to penetrate and does so until it is dried withinthe dryer 20. Therefore, the period intervening between the applicationof the finishing material and the drying of that material controls theamount of penetration of the finishing material into the fabric. Thisdegree of penetration may therefore be controlled by means of theadvancing clamps 2l, that is to say, they may be speeded up in theirmovementor slowed down in their movement to cause the quicker or slowerentry and passage through of the fabric in the dryer. This, of course,makes it possible to nicely control the penetration of the finishingmaterial. It may be possible to dry it within such a period after theapplication oi' the finishing material that the one side of the fabricwill have the nishing material applied thereto, or this period may bevaried so that the nishing material may be permitted to penetrate all ofthe fibers of the base fabric without penetrating the fluff dots, sothat the result is a finished fabric with no finishing material appliedto the raised designs. 'I'hen again, the period may be so nicelycontrolled that the finishing material may be permitted to penetratepartially into the raised design and to any degree desired, so that inthe case of dye, for instance, the raised design may have two differenthues.` It is to be noted that after the rovings such as the nuff dots orother raised designs have been fiufied by the rougher.

. the entire operations are carried on without the rovings again havingpositive contact with any element or mechanism that would tend to crushThus the integrity of the raised design, having once been established,is preserved.

The projection of ilud under pressure onto the obverse face of thefabric completes the flufl'- ing of the raised design and results in anoverall. uniform, effect.

It ls'of course to be understood that certain changes in the details ofthe method and apparatus'used in carrying out the vsame may be madewithin the scope of the claims. F01' instance, the applicator roll i8may be dispensed with and a pressure spray form of applicator usedinstead, in which event the amount of finishing material applied to thefabric will be controlled by the adjustment of the spray.

It is here pointed out that certain `phases of the invention areapplicable to fabric that carries fluff dots, or raised designs that areformed of yarn as distinguished from rovings.

I claim:

l. The method of finishing a woven textile fabric that includes anunnished, plain, relatively opte. mesh ground, spaced raised pattern orfigure forming portions on the obverse side .of said ground constitutedby roving or yarn fibers having bight portions interengaged with threadsof said ground and end portions lying substantially fiat on the obverseside of said ground, to form a fabric having a finished ground, andunfinished, substantially upstanding and artificially fluied, spaced,raised pattern or figure forming portions on the obverse side of saidground, including .the steps of: applying a liquid nishing material tothe reverse side only of said fabric ground: drying said finishingmaterial before it substantially penetrates the said end portions of theibers; and flufling the pattern or figure forming portions bysubstantially separating the fiber ends and causing them to assume anupstanding attitude away from the fabric ground.

2. The method of nnishing a woven textile fabric that includes anunfinished, plain, relatively open mesh ground1 spaced raised pattern orguxe forming portions on the obverse side of said ground constituted byroving or yarn bers having bight portions interengaged with threads ofsaid ground and end portions lying substantially flat on theobverse sideof said ground, to form a fabric having a finished ground, andunnnished.

substantiauy upstanding and artinemiy mined.

spaced. raised pattern or figure forming portions on the obverse sideoi.' said ground, including the steps of: ufiing the pattern or figureforming portions by substantially separating the fiber ends and causingthem to assume an upstanding attitude away from the fabric ground;moving the fabric in sheet form through a liquid applying and dryingzone: applying a liquid finishing material to the reverse side of saidfabric as said fabric enters said zone; at a time interval thereafterdrying said fabric to produce the desired penetration of said ilnishingmaterial into said fabric ground; and controlling the depth ofpenetration of said liquid finishing material into said raised portionsby regulating the amount of liquid applied to a unit area of said fabricand 'the time interval between the application of the finishing materialand the drying of said fabric with respect to each other, whereby saidfabric is finished without substantially affecting the raised patternforming or :ligure portions thereof.

3. A treated fabric. including a base of warp and weft threads, raisedspaced pattern or figure forming portions formed of rovings extendingthrough and engaged with several threads of the base, the free ends ofsaid rovings having an upstanding attitude away from the base, fiuiledup and in substantial separation from each other, the base of'the fabricand the portions ofthe rovings engaged therewith being starched and thefluiiiness of the pattern or figure forming portions being substantiallyunaffected by the starch.

CLARENCE T. GRAHAM.

